


I Found Love

by misspronounced



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Character Study, First Love, Fluff, Late Night Conversations, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Pet Names, Soft Billy Hargrove, Touch-Starved, clingy Steve Harrington, stage 5 clingers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:53:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23582653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misspronounced/pseuds/misspronounced
Summary: A night late poolside conversation between two boys who've been holding their feelings back until now.Billy is lounging, fully relaxed in just his lifeguard shorts, legs swirling in the water and leaning back on his hands. Steve is wrapped around him, sitting so he is facing Billy’s profile with one leg curled around his back and the other bent at the knee over both of Billy’s legs.Steves breathes in the quiet, peaceful moment. “I love this,” Steve says without even being aware that his brain thought to speak.Steve’s dreamy voice shakes Billy out of the cloud of his own thoughts, “Hmmm?”“The water, the quiet, the air, just this moment. It’s - it’s perfect,” Steves answers, the way he sounds by the end of the sentence, Billy thinks Steve really is dreaming.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 12
Kudos: 134





	I Found Love

**Author's Note:**

> First work for this fandom! I've been reading SUCH amazing stories for these two and it gave me an itch to try something myself! 
> 
> This is pure fluff because I wanted our sad boys to have a little happiness, so here we are! 
> 
> Come chat with me on my tumblr!! https://miriellesandthegiantpeach.tumblr.com/  
> I wanna make more friends in this fandom :) 
> 
> All mistakes my own. Drop some kudos and comments! 
> 
> Enjoyyy

It’s late in summer, the sun has been set for hours but the air is still thick from the heat of the day. Steve’s pool is cool and the perfect spot to just be still let time slip by on a summer night like this. So that is where Steve and Billy currently are; sitting at the edge of the pool, late at night and forgetting the rest of the world for a the time being. Steve’s parents are long gone to some beach house rental for who knows how long, but he is happier to have the house to himself. 

Having the house to himself means by proxy, he has a safe place to have Billy to himself. Ever since him and Billy started their - thing, whatever this thing between them is, he thanked the stars that his house is not the designated meeting zone for his squad of middle school nerds. A quiet and safe sanctuary that Steve silently claims for him and Billy. 

Since the summer started they both learned to grow a pair and do something about the thick sexual tension between them, which developed into somewhat of a routine. Billy comes over they bicker about what to eat, sometimes cook, most of the time order pizza, they fuck, and unwind by watching a movie or smoking by the pool. 

Tonight it’s beers and smoking by the pool. Billy is lounging, fully relaxed in just his lifeguard shorts, legs swirling in the water and leaning back on his hands. Steve is wrapped around him, sitting so he is facing Billy’s profile with one leg curled around his back and the other bent at the knee over both of Billy’s legs. Steve rests his chin on Billy’s broad shoulder while one hand mindlessly scratches at his side and the other holding a cheap beer.

Steve loves this, not having to talk or fill the silence, just comfortable to be in each other’s presence, and it was a long and bumpy road to get to this point. It’s still far from perfect, because they’re still both teenagers with egos to match the size of their personalities and old habits die hard. Alone in their bubble, as Steve likes to think of it, they can relax and not pretend. Billy’s jagged edges and acidic words become softer and more rounded, but he is still Billy Hargrove, so he’s still a bit of an asshole by default. It turns out that Steve becomes clingy and better equipped to handle Billy’s shitty moods. Steve is unafraid to look at Billy with full adoration while fantasizing about living together in a small apartment with a dog. It’s been a long time since Billy sneered at him with _‘quit fucking staring at me with your big dumb eyes’._

Steve fixates on Billy’s profile; loose blonde curls hanging everywhere, earring glinting with the pool’s reflection, his neck stretching long, no tension in his face or furrowed eyebrows. His eyes are closed and he takes long slow drags from his cigarette. In these moments it’s easy for Steve to forget all the bad things Billy’s done to him, because he’s the most gorgeous thing Steve has ever seen. 

Steves breathes in the quiet, peaceful moment. “I love this,” Steve says without even being aware that his brain thought to speak. 

Steve’s dreamy voice shakes Billy out of the cloud of his own thoughts, “Hmmm?” 

“The water, the quiet, the air, just this moment. It’s - it’s perfect,” Steves answers, the way he sounds by the end of the sentence, Billy thinks Steve really is dreaming. 

Billy sits on Steve’s unabashed words and can’t think of a snotty comeback because he finds no flaws. He totally agrees, so he settles for, “too sappy.” 

Steve smiles and bounces a little with a quick laugh and let’s himself indulge a very sappy smile. “Give me a break, we don’t get nights like this a lot,” Steve coos. He lightly pinches Billy’s chin and guides him into a languid kiss. “And since I'm a ‘stage 5 clinger’ I am taking full advantage.” 

Billy breaks the kiss to take a drag. “I’m not complaining, and you are a stage 5 clinger,” he punctuates with a lazy kiss to Steve’s eyebrow.

“Good, because I’m not letting you go,” Steves says and carefully leaves out the _“ever”_ he wanted to add at the end. 

“Sure thing, pretty boy,” Billy drawls. Steve wants to drown in Billy’s deep and gravely voice. And if Steve was being honest. He loves when Billy calls him that, he practically preens whenever he says it. 

“Nowhere close to how pretty you are, gorgeous,” Steve says. He reaches up and plays with Billy’s hair, repeatedly tucking it behind his ear and flicking it out. “Breathtaking,” Steve’s voice falls just above a whisper. 

“I’m like manly pretty though,” Billy justifies making Steve snort. “You’re girl level pretty, your doe eyes and goddamn lips.” 

“What about my goddamn lips huh?” Steve asks and traces the side of Billy’s neck with his lips and presses a kiss to the corner of his jaw. 

“They’re ugly and thin and I barely tolerate kissing you,” Billy retorts. 

Kissing down Billy’s neck, Steve hides his laughing face against Billy’s neck. “Liar, I happen to know my lips are one of your favorite parts of my body.” 

“It’s pretty low, it’s like number 5,” Billy replies. He looks down at Steve and tilts his head up so he can trace Steve’s lips with his thumb. 

“I like you like this, when you’re silly,” Steve let’s his voice drop, unaware Billy can hear him still, “silly Billy…” 

“Holy shit, you wanna get dunked, don’t you?” 

“No because I won’t get to cuddle you if I’m wet,” Steve faux pouts. He laces his hands together on Billy’s shoulder. 

“Christ, why do I hang with you? Are you drugging me?” 

Steve just smiles at Billy’s ‘imma pretend you irritate the shit out of me’ bit. “Cuz I’m pretty and you love the attention I can tell.” 

They go quiet for a long while, but there’s nothing awkward or fake about it. 

While resting his cheek on Billy’s shoulder with his eyes drifting closed, he traces Billy’s spine with a finger, up and down absentmindedly. Billy wiggles at the ticklish light touch and says, “come on, no teasing, just scratch.” 

Steve smiles and happily obliges, now dragging his blunt nails across Billy’s back and relishing in the soft hums of contentment coming from him. He’s learned that Billy is a very tactile person, he loves touching and being touched. Steve has it in his mind that he’s making up for lost time, since for years the only touches he’s received were out of violence or he didn’t care enough about the person who was touching him. Just a means to an end, all those girls he’s hooked up with, nothing meaningful. But now, with Steve, all the touches mean something, so when they have a golden opportunity like this, he doesn’t hold back.

A few times they’ve risked being found out with some of their too-friendly touching. Lingering hands, a squeeze on an arm that lasted a second too long, legs pressed together when they ate at the diner. 

Steve smoothes his hand down Billy’s back and hugs him with both arms and lets out a sigh. Steve lets his thoughts run wherever they want and Billy has learned to go along with his stream of consciousness. 

“What’s the dumbest thing I can say to you?” Steve asks. _That I love you?_ He thinks. 

Now the silence becomes heavy because there’s an unspoken rule to be honest with each other when they get to have this extended alone time. 

Billy is now hyper focused on Steve’s knee, drawing pattens into his skin. 

“That you love me,” Billy finally replies. 

It doesn’t sting Steve, because he knows. He pushes through, “why would that be so dumb?” 

“Haven’t you noticed that my life is fucked?” Billy meets Steve’s wide and honest eyes, accepting everything that Billy is and all his baggage and not being afraid anymore. 

“Things will get better, you’re too smart for them not to,” Steve answers. It should reassure Billy, but then again he’s never been an optimist. 

“Yeah one day I’ll kill my dad or he’ll get himself killed then he won’t beat the shit outta me anymore,” Billy spat, tension is forming around his eyes again. “And this is pretty much it for us.” He gestures to the pool, signifying their bit of peace and quiet.

Even though Billy said those words as a hopeless fact, that he and Steve will always have to wait until no one is around to catch them like this, it gave Steve a spark of hope. 

“You want more? More than this right here?” Steve asked, knowing how Billy will react. 

“Fuck, Steve, there’s no _more_ than what we have now. This is it. You think starting tomorrow we can go prancing around like boyfriend and girlfriend?” Despite Billy’s cynical words, he doesn’t move out of Steve’s arms. 

Steve kisses Billy’s shoulder and switches between playing with Billy’s necklace and lightly scratching his chest. The touch makes Billy relax and melt into Steve a little more, a small victory.

Billy sees a dreamy smile on Steve’s face, confused, he asks, “what are you smiling about?” 

Steve lifts his head from Billy’s shoulder so he can meet his eyes, “you want me to be your girlfriend?” Billys huffs and rolls his eyes. “You said I’m girl level pretty, so that would make you the boyfriend,” Steve reasons, smiling wide.  
Billy shakes his head and allows himself to laugh and stops being angry at the world for a moment. Something only Steve Harrington is able to do. 

Steve leans forward lightly bites Billy’s earlobe, kisses his ear, then says “I can be your girl, babe, if you want me to.” Steve waits for a negative reaction, when there isn’t one he continues, “I wanna be your girl, Bills”. 

The silence becomes comfortable again. Billy breathes deep and soaks in Steve’s words. The things he says when they’re alone is tooth rotting sometimes and Billy cannot get enough, so he eggs Steve on, “Yeah? Tell me more, princess.” 

Steve craves the type of attention that he’s seen Billy give the numerous girls at school and at the pool before their thing started. Billy knows what Steve means when he says be his girl, meaning give him the same attention and affection. 

“I want your arm around my shoulders at school, your hand in my back pocket, you threatening the stupid freshmen making heart eyes at me,” Steve explains his fantasy of them being able to show they’re a couple. Then his voice turns solemn, knowing the normal things he wants are a pipe dream. “I want you to call me all the nicknames you call me in private, I want your hugs and kisses. It’s so hard to not hang off you at parties, especially after I’ve been drinking. You know how clingy I get with a few beers in me,” Steve laughs, Billy joining him. “That’s why I leave early now, because I’ll get to a point where I can’t help myself.”

Billy listens with his face buried in Steve’s hair and hums in agreement with each desire of Steve’s, he wants the same more than ever. It’s a chronic ache and it gets harder and harder to resist doing all those things. Steve is so fawned over and Billy itches to make it known that he’s off limits, he’s Billy’s now and no one else’s. 

Everything fades around them, like El’s visions, it’s only Billy and Steve and nothing else. Billy moves his legs in the water, the cold grounding him. He tugs at Steve’s arms, “come here,” and Steve maneuvers himself to sit in-between Billy’s spread legs to face him full on. 

Just a few months ago, Billy wasn’t capable of being this open and letting himself be vulnerable. But seeing Steve’s openness and how he doesn’t hold anything back when it comes to Billy, he’s learned to reciprocate. He gently runs his hands through Steve’s messy hair, tucks it behind his ears, pushes the bangs back, and holds his jaw admiring him like the precious thing he his. “So beautiful,” Billy whispers, feeling the warmth in Steve’s cheeks under his hands. 

“Do you even know how gone on you I am?” Steve asks, resting his arms on Billy’s shoulders. 

“I have an idea,” Billy smirks, “‘cuz I’m right there with ya.” 

It’s too late to pretend that they’re not head over heels for each other, so might as well dive straight into the deep end. They kiss slow and pour everything they can’t put into words into each other. There’s no rush, no desperate undertone to the kiss, just enjoying this precious time together. 

“I wish the world knew I was yours,” Steve says against Billy’s lips. 

“All mine, baby. All mine. Not letting you go,” Billy replies smiling wide. He pulls back to look Steve in the eyes. “Just so you know, I love you too,” he confesses and bites his lower lip. 

Steve’s eyes go full on doe-eyed and can’t restrain his instant smile. “I guess dumb minds think alike then, huh?” Billy laughs and now desperately kisses Steve, like he’s the only source of air. 

This right here, this night with Steve, Billy makes sure to bask in it and engrave the feeling into his memory because this marks the happiest moment of his entire life. His baby in his arms, exchanging ‘I love you’s’, and feeling a more intense love each and every day with Steve. Billy would take all the shitty things that came with Hawkins infinite times because he now has this moment with Steve. It’s all worth it, _Steve_ is all worth it. 

The look in Billy’s changes subtly to a mix of mischievous and heat and raises his eyebrows at Steve in a silent warning. 

“What - no no no, don’t you fuc-” Steve sputters before getting pushed backwards by his shoulders into the pool. The look of panic and betrayal in Steve’s eyes before getting dunked is priceless and Billy can’t control his laughter. Caught aware, Steve emerges from the water and pulls Billy by the arms into the water with him. 

They play fight and splash each other and laugh. At some point their shorts get forgotten at the bottom of the deep end. They will this night to never end. Sleep is for those who don’t have the love of their life in their arms anyway.


End file.
